


Across the Atlantic

by makingitwork



Series: Bughead Prompts [40]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: AU, Competition, Drabble, F/M, First Meeting, Flirting, Harry Potter AU, High School, Hogwarts, Illvermorny, Magic, One Shot, Quidditch, Rivalry, american jughead, british betty, horned serpent jughead, hufflepuff betty, meet cute, preslash, seeker betty, seeker jughead
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-03
Updated: 2018-09-03
Packaged: 2019-07-06 12:51:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15886428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/makingitwork/pseuds/makingitwork
Summary: Betty and Jughead meet just before a Quidditch game.





	Across the Atlantic

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoy!
> 
> This is an early birthday present for the lovely, wonderful HufflepuffBetty who I am so lucky to have met! She is wonderful and amazing.

Betty slammed her hand onto the surface of the desk, her patience wearing thin. "Make a decision. It's yes or no. 'Yes' means I leave happily and 'no' means I write a scathing article about you in the  _Hogwarts Press._ Up to you." She smiled sweetly.

The old wizard leaned back in his chair and it creaked under his weight. "Betty..." Principal Weatherbee began beseechingly. "You know I would love to change the rules, but it would be changing tradition and-"

"Moving Quidditch into the 21st century? I agree." She answered promptly, crossing her arms and raising her eyebrows challengingly. "Girls can play every position except for seeker and I'm sure even Rita would have something to say about that. It could make the National Press." She hummed. "I'm more than happy to give interviews." 

 

 

"Well fucking-done." Toni cheered as they changed into their gear. The tanned girl was half-hunched over the bench, lacing up her boots. The gold robes shimmered along her shoulders and her long magenta hair was tied back in a thick braid. "Seriously, Betty. It's a big win." 

Betty tightened her ponytail before adjusting the position of her shin pads. "Is it? I had the rule changed so more girls would try out for seeker, and it's still only  _me._ Across all the houses across all the years, just me." She rested her head in her black-gloved hands. "What if I mess up? What if I just plain  _suck?_ Everyone's going to think I was stupid to get the rule changed!" 

Toni's hand settled on her shoulder, squeezing hard. "Show 'em how it's done." She said simply, before nudging Betty. "Now go get your broom. We'll be outside warming up, alright?" 

The blonde witch sighed and nodded. "Okay, Captain."

Betty lingered for a moment in the silence of the changing room, before tightening her laces nervously. The uniform, for the first time ever, felt heavy on her body. The tight black, long sleeved top under her yellow cape seemed to force her shoulders down. When she stared down at herself, all she could see was the badger crest staring up at her doubtfully. As if she shouldn't be playing. Maybe she could ask Toni to swap her back- but no. No. She'd  _fought_ for this, and she was damn well going to give her best. Win or not. 

As she stood up and headed out of the room towards the broom cupboard, she was briefly rather pleased that they weren't going up against Slytherin today. Or any Hogwarts house at all for that matter. Not that all Slytherin teams were brutal, but...a lot of them were highly competitive and took the game with more seriousness than Betty thought mid-term games warranted. She headed into the broom cupboard and took out her nixus, fingers curling around the stick bravely. She was a Hufflepuff. She could do this. 

She let out a cry of surprise when she whirled straight into the warm chest of another student. 

"Oh god- I'm so sorry!" Came a strong, American accent, and Betty looked up to see the handsome face of a smiling stranger. He took a step back, lifting his hands in innocence. "I think I'm lost?"

He was kitted out in an Ilvermorny Quidditch uniform, the cranberry sports shirt stretching across the muscles in his arms, and the silver arm guards over the top. The blue cape was fastened to his shirt with two gold medallions that featured a bronze, coiling serpent on a royal red background. _For the scholar_ was written beneath. The match was against a mixed house team from Ilvermorny, and she tried her best to gauge him. A lot of people saw the Horned Serpent as a type of Ravenclaw equivalent, and though Betty could understand the similarities, she wasn't sure it was that simple. "I'm trying to find the guy's changing room?" He lifted up his duffel bag that held his normal clothes. He wanted somewhere to store them.

She tried to keep her wits about her, but his blue hair and green eyes were making it distracting. "Oh! Sure, it's right this way," she said, falling into her job as school ambassador. He followed her easily enough, smiling.

"I'm Jughead." He greeted, "and you have the cutest accent." 

Betty felt the blood rush to her cheeks and she ducked her head. "Thank you. I'm Betty. Seeker." She waited for his reaction. 

He simply nodded. "Me too. I saw your grounds on the way in. They're very nice." 

She bristled at his lack of acknowledgement, before realising that perhaps he didn't know what an event this was. "That's great- did you know I'm the first female seeker Hogwarts has ever had? I petitioned to get the rule changed just last week." 

Jughead smiled at her like he thought she was  _cute_ instead of  _impressive._ It was flattering, but irritating. "Oh right. I didn't realise girls couldn't be seekers." He turned to look at the view out of the huge windows in the hallway. The rolling hills of distant green seemed to call to him. She'd never been to Ilvermorny and she wondered briefly what their grounds and views were like. 

She felt frustration bubble just under her skin. "Maybe you didn't realise because you're a  _guy_ and you get any position you want. Maybe you're not seeing that girls aren't always awarded the same opportunities." She snapped.

He blinked in surprise, before frowning. "Uh- all I know is back home, we vote on everything. It was voted back when the school first started playing Quidditch whether there should be any differences between girls and guys in the game, and people voted no. I don't think I'm particularly oblivious." Betty pressed her lips together guiltily. Perhaps she was just a little bit on edge- "Is it my fault that England is steeped in weird, backward tradition?" 

She halted, turning to him; her eyes aflame with patriotism. "What?" 

His lips twitched in amusement. "Do you have a boyfriend?"

Her jaw dropped, and she whirled away from him, marching in the opposite direction. She gritted her teeth when she heard his footsteps come running after her. 

"Hey! Betty, Betty, wait I'm sorry!" He tried, jogging lightly to keep up with her stride. He touched her arm to try and get her to look at him. "Betty, please? I really am sorry." She didn't look at him, keeping her eyes resolutely ahead. He turned to look at her, walking backwards as he juggled his belongings. "What you did was really amazing. You're gonna be the first female seeker ever here, at one of the oldest wizarding schools in the world. That's incredible. And I guess I don't pay as much attention as I should, but that's only because I take it for granted. Of course I think girls should be able to play every position. It's ridiculous that they weren't. But as the first ever player...you must be feeling kinda nervous, right?"

Her eyes flickered to him, and he beamed at her victoriously, before tripping over his duffel bag and landing in a heap on the floor. She rushed forward to help him, and he took her hand gratefully.

"Guess I've really fallen for you, huh?" He teased, and she rolled her eyes in disbelief, hauling him up. 

"Do you talk like this to all the girls you meet?"

"Only pretty blonde Quidditch seekers," he quipped. With a reluctantly fond sigh, she turned around, and they headed back down the way they'd come. "But, can I give you some advice? Seeker to seeker?"

She bit the inside of her mouth uncertainly, but nodded once. 

He waved his free hand, showcasing the fingerless black gloves he was wearing. "Fingerless." He advised. "What you've got on is only going to make the snitch slip out of your grasp. It's intensely frustrating." 

Betty looked at her hands with a frown, before nodding. "That makes sense, thank you," she murmured, muttering a quick transfiguration spell. They walked a few more steps in companionable silence, before she rubbed at her arm self-consciously. "I am nervous." She admitted. "What if I play so badly everyone thinks the old rule was right?" 

Jughead scoffed, shaking his head. "It doesn't matter if you're the worst player out there- which you won't be," he hastened to add, eyes wide. "But what I mean is- everyone thinks the rule was stupid regardless of how well you play. There are beaters out there who suck sometimes, and no one thinks they should be banned from the game. You're putting too much pressure on yourself. The hard part is over, the rule is changed and  _you_ did that." A thought seemed to occur to him. "Which house are you?" 

Betty gestured to the badger on her uniform. "Hufflepuff." 

He cocked his head confusedly. 

"Uh- fairness and trust, and handwork," 

"Oh! Oh, a Pukwudgie. _Favour healers._ That's what I would have pegged." He puffed his chest out proudly. A long strand of dark hair fell into his forehead and she was tempted to reach up and brush it behind his ear. "Anyway, you're up against me. I can always throw the game. That's the only way you'd even stand a chance." He shot her a wink, and she snorted delicately, thwacking his arm. They reached the boys changing room and she sighed.  ****

"I guess I'll see you on the field, huh?" She asked, leaning against the doorway. She was excited at the thought of the two of them on their brooms, just above the rest of the game. Apart and yet together.  Maybe even flying side by side as they reached for the gold ball. He looked down at her; eyes warm.

"Not if I see you first." 

Betty rolled her eyes, blushing when Jughead's eyes settled to rest on her lips. "Okay," she murmured quietly, "I'll see you down there." 

He nodded, clearing his throat. "Good luck, Betty. Not that you need it." 

She wasn't sure whether they'd win the game. She wasn't sure whether she'd catch the snitch. 

But she was pretty sure she'd see the blue-haired boy again. 

Some things in life were fairly certain, after all. 

**Author's Note:**

> I'd love to do an immediate part 2, or something else in this universe if you guys have any good ideas? 
> 
> Comment/prompt! 
> 
> mwah mwah x


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